A Drabble in Time and Space
by Ranya Ni
Summary: Short pieces about the world and adventures of Time Lords and the people they affect.
1. Kennedy

It's November the 21, 1963. There is a man sitting in a diner off the main street just before the road meets Dealey Plaza. A steaming cup of coffee sits before him, untouched. His long fingers lace around it loosely and his thumb worries a small chip in the handle. The leather jacket he is wearing is pulled tight from his arms resting high on the edge of the small table. Around him, people chatter excitedly, filling the place with the light clink and chatter of a restaurant. He doesn't drink.

"Big day tomorrow," he says to the waitress who has come by to see if he wants anything else to eat. The waitress looks up from her pad, red lips parting into a big grin. She didn't realize he had an accent before now. Something British for sure.

"I'm so excited," she breaths, gum smacking loudly, "I mean, it's not every day you get to see the President."

He presses his lips together in a small smile. It doesn't reach his eyes.

"I'm more interested in what happens after," he admits, shrugging a shoulder and gesturing with one hand out the window. The waitress sees something in his eyes then. Something dark but desperately lonely.

"What do you mean?" There is a drop in her stomach when her the words come out.

He smiles again but it makes him look even more hollow than before.

"Nothing, just talking to myself. Welp better be getting on with it. Loads to do after. Don't mind me, I'll be getting out of your way." Standing up he scoots past her, palming something silver into his pocket. He doesn't look back.

The waitress realizes too late he never paid for his coffee. She doesn't chase after him. She doesn't go around the corner and hear the low wheezing sound of a wooden blue box. Instead she picks up the undrunk cup of coffee and dumps it down the sink. She doesn't want to know what he was talking about.

Tomorrow she'll sit stunned with the rest of America. She'll think of what he said. She'll wonder if it was worth not chasing after him to find out what he meant ahead of time. She'll wonder if it was worth a cup of coffee.


	2. Echo of Donna Noble

It's the odd things that Donna Noble does that worry her grandfather. Soon after her wedding she comes to him, eyes filled with tears. She can't stop crying. He guides her to the sitting room where she bumps hard into the couch. She looks down at it but doesn't register pain. When he sits her down he hands her a tissue from the coffee table. She takes it and mops up her face before reaching out and clinging to him. They stay like that, unheeded by the clock on the wall ticking minutes past.

"What is it darling," he finally asks, "Sweet, what's wrong. Won't you tell your old grandfather?" Wilfed's voice quavers at the end and he puts an arm around her. His heart breaks for her. When she finally speaks every other word from her is hiccuped out between sobs.

"Something's happened." The tissue balled up in her fist is flattened out before she shreds it.

"Did you and your lad have a domestic, eh?" He asks. All she can do is shake her head violently. For a long time she doesn't answer him, just focuses on getting her breathing under control. When she finally sits up her face is blotched and her nose is running. He pulls another tissue from the box and wipes up her tears.

"Gramps," she breathes out slowly,"I don't know what's wrong. That's the worse part. I feel like something horrible has happened. Like someone I love has died."

"Well that can't be true, can it?" He teases gently, "Eh? I'm here and you're mother's out doing the shopping. You've got your man. We're all fine, see?"

"No, Gramps, someone else," she huffs, shoulders slumping. There's a pause and Donna looks off to the right, eyes not focused on anything. "It's like I've forgotten someone or they've forgotten me. But they're gone now. They're dead." There's a dreamy quality to her voice like she's half asleep. Then the moment is gone and she shakes her head. "Daft isn't it? Me, crying? What is this all about? Must be all the shock of winning the lottery."

Wilf stays with her, holding her hand while she rattles on. His heart is breaking all over again. He tries to be there for her while he fights back tears of his own. 


End file.
